APPENDIX F INDIVIDUAL TSP/BCS TECHNICAL MEETING SUMMARY NOTES

Size: px
Start display at page:

Download "APPENDIX F INDIVIDUAL TSP/BCS TECHNICAL MEETING SUMMARY NOTES"

Transcription

1 APPENDIX F INDIVIDUAL TSP/BCS TECHNICAL MEETING SUMMARY NOTES

2 Location: 777 Bay Street, 30 th Floor, Exec. Bdrm Date: Friday February 19, 2010 Purpose: Present: Joint Meeting with Metrolinx, GO Transit and Smart Commute to Discuss TDM and Transit Concepts Lisa Salsberg, Metrolinx Julia Salvini, Metrolinx Greg Ashbee, GO Transit Ryan Lanyon, Smart Commute Roger Ward, MTO Jin Wang, MTO Frank Pravitz, MTO Patrick Griepsma, MTO Howard Anders, MTO Paul Hudspith, URS Patrick Puccini, URS Kevin Phillips, URS Thomas Cerny, URS Neil Ahmed, MRC Mike Delsey, AECOM Mario Peloquin, AECOM Time: 9:30 a.m. 12:00 p.m. 1. Opening Remarks R. Ward thanked all for attending and provided a brief update on the current status of both studies. 2. Overview Presentation P. Hudspith and N. Ahmed provided an overview the study areas, policy context, and approach to generating the transportation system alternatives for both studies. The following comments and questions were discussed: How are the studies addressing cross border trade issues? Answer: Both studies are undertaking an economic analysis to understand the potential economic opportunities associated with each of the preliminary planning alternatives, which will factor into the assessment of these alternatives - 1 -

3 What level of approval will be sought at the end of Phase 1 for both studies? Answer: There is no formal MOE approval required at the end of Phase 1. The Government of Ontario will carefully consider the elements of the Transportation Development Strategy that are within their jurisdiction before proceeding to Phase 2 of the study. What are the transportation problems that can t be addressed by the Group #1 and Group #2 alternatives? Answer: The Group #1 and Group #2 alternatives are an important foundation and will help to address the transportation problems and opportunities. However, these alternatives will not fully address the future highway congestion issues which affect the ability of all modes of transportation to function efficiently. Will concepts such as reserved bus lanes and incident management only be considered for existing highways? Answer: These concepts will be applied principally to interregional transportation facilities, and could be applied to Group 3 and Group 4 alternatives. Suggest adding the GO Transit initiative to extend service to Guelph/Kitchener in the list of Group #2 concepts. Agreed. Will this study be considering a transit connection between Guelph and Hamilton? Answer: Yes. Will the final Transportation Development Strategy involve prioritizing of the initiatives included within it? Answer: It is anticipated the Transportation Development Strategy will involve categorizing the various initiatives as near, medium and long term initiatives. Will cost estimates be prepared for the Group #1 and Group #2 alternatives? Answer: Cost estimates for the Group #1 and Group #2 alternatives will be developed during the next phase of the study as greater detail becomes available. Will the inter-urban transit initiative that is being pursued by Niagara Region be incorporated into the NGTA study in some way? Answer: The NGTA study team is aware of this initiative through consultation with Niagara Region staff. While this initiative will serve to provide travel choice for local travellers in Niagara Region, the NGTA study is focused on addressing future inter

4 regional travel demands. 3. Transportation Demand Management (TDM) R. Lanyon provided an overview of the Smart Commute organization. He noted the following: Smart Commute focuses on home-based commuter trips during peak commuter periods. The program engages participants primarily through their employers. The success of the program is highly dependent on the ability to engage employers. The Smart Commute program focuses on the GTHA but the commuter shed is substantially larger. Smart Commute is starting to look at school based trips as well, but is not involved in TDM for tourism, goods movement, special events, etc. There are 130 active employers registered in the Smart Commute program representing more than 335,000 workers and post secondary students. Metrolinx is the central agency responsible for the Smart Commute program. This enables economies of scale and maximizes efficiencies. Metrolinx provides 50% of funding to the Transportation Management Associations (TMAs). In some cases municipalities also contribute funding (e.g. Richmond Hill and Markham). Smart Commute has studied the potential for third party vanpooling, which is a very successful program in the United States. Implementation of third party vanpooling in Ontario would require legislative changes, as it is currently not permitted in Ontario. The study undertaken by Smart Commute on third party vanpooling is entitled Vanpool Program Feasibility Study (itrans, March 2007) and is available online at SmartCommute.ca/resources. There was discussion with regard to the potential for supporting Metrolinx and Smart Commute in further establishing TDM practices in the GTHA. The following was noted: Under current legislation, the Smart Commute could be expanded beyond the GTHA, but funding could not be provided to TMAs in these areas. Assistance in terms of establishing TDM supportive policies around traffic management, tax incentives, etc. would be beneficial

5 4. Transit Financial incentives for TDM programs used in US have been very successful, especially when the employer is engaged in monitoring the participation of their employees. Often these programs involve providing financial incentives for a limited trial period (e.g. 3 months). The experience has been the even when the incentives are removed the majority of users continue to participate in the TDM programs. There was discussion as to whether it would be beneficial to establish some form of provincial governance that would oversee efforts to optimize the transportation system such as a Transportation Demand Management and an Active Traffic Management Strategy that could include Smart Commute, Carpool/HOV, TSM initiatives, etc. It was noted that the concern would be that this may serve to limit TDM, which should be integrated across all aspects of the transportation system, as opposed to being considered an individual component. It was agreed that the development of a broad TDM strategy that promotes integration across all of the aspects of the transportation system and reaches out to all relevant transportation agencies across the GTHA may be a better strategy. Smart Commute is looking into establishing a new TMA in the vicinity of Pearson International Airport that would be run by the Mississauga TMA. The annual funding for Smart Commute is on the order of $2 million, of which $1.3 million is provided to TMAs. Recommendations for increased funding within the Transportation Development Strategies for the NGTA and GTA West would be supported by Metrolinx and Smart Commute. R. Lanyon agreed to provide some information and review the final wording to be included within both Transportation Development Strategies related to TDM recommendations. K. Phillips provided a brief overview of the transit related components that have been identified for the Group #2 alternatives for both studies. These included: Transit service between Hamilton International Airport (HIA) and Niagara Falls. R. Lanyon - 4 -

6 New/expanded transit service west of Pearson International Airport. Transit service focused around the City of Hamilton. Transit service focused around the City of Guelph. Transit service connecting Urban Growth Centres west of the GTA West study area. The following summarizes the key discussion points with regard to these concepts: A transit service between the HIA and Niagara Falls is not anticipated to be a provincial initiative, but could be a private sector opportunity. The demand for this service may not be sufficient to justify its implementation. G. Ashbee noted that the GO Transit rail service to Niagara on weekends and holidays last year was successful in stimulating tourism. However, even with the significant number of trips generated, significant subsidy was required to maintain service. Metrolinx/GO Transit agree in principle with the concept of focusing inter-regional transit service around major employment nodes beyond the GTA. This would likely be a long-term initiative and would require further study to consider issues such as: Whether more appropriate for this service to be provided by municipal transit? Could be positioned as a feeder service into regional rail network. Kitchener/Waterloo could be another area of focus. With regard to transit service connecting Urban Growth Centres west of the GTA West study area, the following was noted: The Region of Waterloo undertook a study on extending GO Transit rail service to the region from Union Station. The recommendation was to provide service to Kitchener via the CP Rail line that services Milton. The study described above didn t consider interconnecting service between Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo and Guelph. This could be considered in conjunction with smaller trains. GO Transit would likely look at providing bus service - 5 -

7 before implementing rail service. More study and consultation with municipalities would be required to explore this concept. Metrolinx and GO Transit were generally supportive of further considering the concepts presented, but noted that if included in the Transportation Development Strategy, they should be described in more general terms. Metrolinx and GO Transit agreed to review and provide further input on the transit related recommendations to be included in the Transportation Development Strategy. A teleconference with Metrolinx and Smart Commute will be scheduled to discuss the potential for broader TDM initiatives related to freight movement, tourism, special events, etc. in the two study areas. Meeting Adjourned at 12 p.m. NGTA and GTA West Study Teams Metrolinx/ GO Transit URS Submitted by: Distribution: Patrick Puccini Attendees - 6 -